Perfect match
Upgrading the world’s fastest superyachts with the latest and lightest grand prix carbon rigging is no place to be discussing tolerances...
Rigging a large, high-performance yacht is always going to be a major undertaking. It’s a complex engineering challenge with millimetre tolerances in cables measuring more than 50 metres in length and – if you’re serious about performance – the cable ellipse profiles are individually tailored for optimal performance across a range of wind angles. Tight, collaborative project management is paramount whether you’re retrofitting new cables to a yacht’s existing mast or designing a set of standing rigging for a new-build mast. That said, yacht owners and crew who have upgraded to Carbo- Link rigging tend to find the process a lot more straightforward and the benefits easier to realise than they initially expected.
Two notable racing yachts that have recently been down this route are Galateia, a 100ft Wally which is optimised for fast-paced superyacht regattas and Rambler 88, the coastal and ocean racing maxi. Both yachts were in major refit mode, with owners and teams looking to improve performance with leading-edge, proven and reliable technology. ‘Carbo-Link worked very closely with
70 SEAHORSE
Galateia and Rambler’s permanent and race crews right from the start,’ says Carbo-Link’s James Wilkinson. ‘That was crucial to understand the specific requirements and parameters of each project and to ensure that our solutions precisely met the clients’ demands.’ Both of these projects required close collaboration on a tight schedule between Carbo-Link and Southern Spars, which had built Galateia’s mast and was in the process of producing Rambler’s new mast. ‘It was an enjoyable and efficient process,’ Axel Strauss, Carbo-Link’s project manager for Galateia and Rambler explains. ‘Clear timelines were established and engineering requirements from both companies were shared, analysed, iterated and signed off.’
Retrofit project Galateia’s rigging upgrade – which included elliptical solid carbon lateral rigging, forestay and elliptical hybrid running backstays – was part of a wider overhaul to give Galateia a performance edge over her rivals in the fiercely competitive Wally fleet. ‘Carbo-Link was chosen based on the
Above: the maxi Rambler 88 sporting a brand new rig after a major refit, which included elliptically profiled solid carbon rig- ging from Carbo-Link, custom made to fit the yacht’s
lighter new Southern Spars mast. The two companies collaborated closely on the rig design and engineering and the yacht was racing in the Giraglia just five days after the new rig was stepped...
proven track record of our elliptical rigging,’ Wilkinson says. ‘And because Carbo-Link’s solid rigging delivers a significant reduction in the sectional size and frontal area for the equivalent stiffness compared with any other rigging currently available.’ Indeed, a useful drag reduction could have been achieved even with Carbo-Link’s round-profile rigging and this was amplified substantially with Carbo-Link’s elliptical carbon rigging. Another important reason for choosing Carbo-Link solid rigging was the simple inspection, service and maintenance procedures. Carbo-Link’s rigging is inspected visually and with NDT if required on-site, it does not need to be sent back to the manufacturer for service and inspection. Off-site service is both costly and time consuming, and removing this requirement allows Galateia to reduce annual running costs.
‘We measured the existing rigging
in situ to ensure the new rigging matched the exact lengths and geometry,’ Strauss explains. ‘This was then modelled to define all subsequent engineering.’ End
CARLO BORLENGHI/ROLEX MIDDLE SEA RACE
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